Arctic ice melt is reversible: Glaciers can reform in a 'geologic instant

Arctic ice melt is reversible: Glaciers can reform in a 'geologic instant

The current shrinking of glaciers may not be irreversible, as research shows that they can expand in a ‘geologic instant’.

Scientists from the University at Buffalo discovered that a fast-moving glacier on the Greenland Ice Sheet grew rapidly during a period when the Earth was cooling several thousand years ago.

The finding adds to a growing body of evidence indicating that ice sheets can not only shrink in response to abrupt warming, but also reverse course and expand in response to abrupt cooling.

The study found that twice in the early Holocene period - 9,200 years ago and then 8,200 years ago - Jakobshavn Isbrae, a glacier on Greenland's west coast, overcame rapid shrinkage to expand during brief cooling periods that lasted little more than a century. Read More